Just a short time ago, the NBA was once again exposed to a very bad event in the western world. In November 2021, Phoenix Suns team owner Saville was exposed to have serious racial discrimination and misogyny. It is said that Saville has repeatedly used racial discrimination words such as N-word (nigger) and had abnormal conflicts with women for many times. Finally, Saville was prohibited from participating in team matters for one year and fined 10 million dollars.
In my personal impression, the team owner who was severely punished last time was former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. In addition to being both white and rich, he and Saville had something in common: they were both Chris Paul’s bosses at that time. A long time ago, Paul’s plan to go to the Lakers to join Kobe Bryant was also because the team had no boss, was entrusted by the league, and finally failed to take shape.
Chris Paul, as one of the best point guards in the league, can be said to be a great master of classical guards, but like his skills, several of his “meme” are as famous as his skills. The first is the famous “58” meme. The Nuggets, led by Anthony, lost 58 points in the playoffs that year. Since then, the number “58” has been tied to Paul. Since then, whenever Paul and numbers are mentioned, the first thing people think of must be “58”, not the “No 3” jersey that Paul has worn for many years.
In addition, it is the “Western Finals floor”. No matter how hard he tried in the first many seasons, he could never break through the Western Conference semifinals and touch the floor of the Western Conference finals. Fortunately, in the 20-21 season, he and the Suns successfully won consecutive Western Conference semifinals and Western Conference finals. Paul not only touched the floor of the Western Conference finals and finals, but also failed to win the championship trophy. And now Paul has been in several teams, and the owners of three teams have also been affected for different reasons. The first two owners have both sold their teams. I don’t know how the Suns owner will choose. Whether it will be involved in the “change of ownership” storm.
In the two seasons when Paul came to the Suns, the Suns did well. In the 20-21 season, the Suns successfully reached the finals. Although they failed to raise their glasses in the end, the young players in the team were baptized by the playoffs and finals. In the subsequent 21-22 season, the Suns were disappointed to be defeated in the seventh attempt of the lone ranger, but it can be seen from this that the Suns once again became a championship team led by an excellent point guard, The last time the Suns competed for the championship was when Nash led the team. Nash finally retired with regret that he could not win the championship. I wonder if Paul can win a new trophy for Phoenix. In addition, the young players of the Suns have grown rapidly in recent years. Both Booker, Bridges and Aton have become the mainstay of the team. I don’t know whether this young army led by an old gun can make any achievements in the future.
In this offseason, the Phoenix Suns put the team’s main focus on the young players in the contract renewal team. At the beginning of the offseason, they completed the early renewal of Booker’s contract. They bound Booker’s future with Phoenix with a four-year contract of 224 million dollars. In addition, although the rumors about Eton’s transaction in the offseason were very clear and widespread, Eton finally stayed in Phoenix with a four-year contract of 133 million dollars.
In addition, some young players in the team, such as Bridges and Johnson, have grown faster in the past few seasons, and they have enough ability to assume sufficient responsibilities in the team. With the return of Salic from a serious injury and the signing of a few minor repairs and minor repairs during the offseason, the Suns will undoubtedly be a member of the championship team next season.
However, the news of the Sun boss’s scandal and the punishment ban undoubtedly cast a shadow on the new season that the Sun has not yet started. After all, this is not only an obstacle to the team management, but also a certain impact on the team’s dressing room atmosphere.
For Paul, whether he can break the magic spell and successfully lift the championship trophy, and whether the Suns will be forced to change owners, will be revealed for us next season.
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